Tetrathemis irregularis
species of insect
Tetrathemis irregularis is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae,
known as the rainforest elf.
It is a tiny to small, slender dragonfly with black and yellow markings. It inhabits rainforest streams in north-eastern Australia
and Southeast Asia, including the Aru Islands.
Subspecies
The species Tetrathemis irregularis includes the following subspecies:
Tetrathemis irregularis irregularis Brauer, 1868 - found in South-east Asia and New Guinea
Tetrathemis irregularis cladophila Tillyard, 1908 - found in Australia and the Aru islands
Etymology
The genus name Tetrathemis is derived from the Greek τετρα- (tetra, "four") and -themis, from Greek Θέμις (Themis), the goddess of divine law, order and justice. In early odonate taxonomy, names ending in -themis were widely used for dragonflies. The name refers to the apparently four-sided triangle in the wings.
The species name irregularis is derived from the Latin in- ("not") and regularis ("regular" or "orderly"). The name also refers to the irregular four-sided triangle in the wings.
“Tetrathemis irregularis” enters the record as species of insect. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Tetrathemis, irregularis and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Tetrathemis irregularis” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Tetrathemis, irregularis and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q517021. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1868 and 1908.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Tetrathemis irregularis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.